American Idol Revival Premiere Review

After what feels like barely any time at all away from our TVs, American Idol returned for its newest season tonight. And I have more than a few thoughts on it.

I'll begin by admitting that I was not particularly excited for American Idol to return. I watched nearly every season of the original run, and the show was a big part of my life. I loved American Idol. But by the time it came to an end, I was ready. The passion I once had for the show had mostly died out, and the show had become a shadow of its former self. For that reason, I wasn't too sure about this revival.

But it surprised me.

That's right. Despite being a skeptic, I thoroughly enjoyed American Idol's return to TV. It had a fun and fresh feeling to it that some of the recent seasons of Idol just didn't have. It somehow was both familiar and new. This premiere reminded me of what I like to call "Classic Idol." Idol in its prime was so great because it had both great talent and great judges. And that's what I saw here.

This season's judging panel was not one I was all that interested in at first, but I certainly am now. They were a lot of fun to watch, and all brought their own unique charms to the show. They clearly care about the contestants and about music. Their criticism was always constructive, not mean. But they also weren't pushovers, which is good. They were tough, yet fair. These are the makings of a good judge. They also had the makings of a good judging panel. They had chemistry with each other, and seem to genuinely enjoy each other's company. That's incredibly important, and that alone can help determine whether or not a season will be good. Based off what I saw tonight, this season will be a good one.

And of course I can't forget to mention the most important part of a singing competition: the singers! There were a lot of interesting auditions this time around, both very good and very bad. A favorite of mine was Noah Davis (wig!), who was incredibly charming and also, unbelievably, an amazing singer. And he wasn't the only one, I was surprised by the level of talent with so many of the night's singers, and I see a ton of potential in some of tonight's auditions.

Of course, the premiere wasn't all good. There were some pacing issues that I noticed during the episode. Some parts of it tended to drag on a bit, and were a bit slow. That led to a two hour episode that certainly felt like a two hour episode. Those hours didn't fly by, because of those pacing issues I talked about earlier. But still, this is my only real criticism of the show, and it's one that I expect will resolve itself as the show goes on. So the prognosis for this show is quite good.

All in all, this revival has everything that made the original must-see TV. It was enjoyable to watch, with great talent and great onscreen personality.

Score: 8.5/10
Grade: B+

What did you think of the American Idol revival's premiere? Let me know in the comments!